And in the end, Light
by HelenaUrie
Summary: An adaptation of Star Wars Theory's "What if Anakin KILLED Palpatine in Revenge of the Sith", as requested by a reader. Rated M, just in case.


**A/N: Requested by ** mnp16891 on Wattpad

***NOTE: violence! **

**This is essentially an adaptation of Star Wars Theory's "What if Anakin KILLED Palpatine in Revenge of the Sith", with some modifications to serve the plot better. **

**I'm bringing a pail and a toy shovel to play in Lucasfilm's sandbox (the only source of sand that Anakin approves of). I'm also taking some liberations with how the Force has a consciousness... don't murder me plz :)**

* * *

Sidious's words are mere buzzing noises in his ears. His heart beats faster, his chest heaving, his head enveloped in a haze of anger that almost hurt.

The man who stands in front of him, this deceptively kind father figure that he has known for so many years, he is the one behind _everything. _The War, the manipulations, the suffering of so many people that he cared about—

Padmé.

_He_ is the reason that his angel's life has been at risk for so many times, especially as the War trudged on; all the assassinations, all the captures, the dangers that she'd gone through; this treacherous _thing_, this _monster_, the source of all his anxiety and anguish—

He had to save his angel and their unborn child.

"Are you going to kill me?" The Sith asks, his back still turned against the young Jedi knight. Despite the hum of the lightsaber that is a nudge away from decapitating him, Sidious takes a deep breath and the familiar dark tendrils calm the pounding of his heart; presented with a chance to save his wife, surely the boy would not betray him. Now, at this key point, his mass scheme is set in motion.

There is a moment's silence. Sidious waits patiently; he'd been waiting for more than two decades as he gradually cultivated his creation's loyalty, and he can certainly spare a few moments.

An invisible hand abruptly seizes him, fingers constricting around his neck. In a panic, Sidious tries to gulp in air but finds it is a futile act. Past the distressed pounding of his heart and the rush of blood against his eardrums, he can hear the creaking of metal, the crashing and thudding and fragmenting of furniture to the ground.

No, NO—

"Of course."

Involuntary Sidious is spun around to face his knight, whose left hand has extended from the folds of his robe to motion a choke. Changing eyes meet him, a murky, cold blend of yellow and blue that radiate utmost hatred and contempt. The dark tendrils that had been his companion for _decades _rush away and crawl their way up to the Falling knight, hissing and spitting at their former host. Fingers trembling in fright, the Sith wheezes urgently, "Don't do—this! Only I—can save—Padmé! Give you—the life—you—want—! The Jedi will—condemn—you—"

"Silence!"

The ceiling collapses, wires sparking and dust and concrete tumbling down to the torn red carpet below. The hand around Sidious tightens until the Sith is entirely devoid of air, and his organs burn and wail in overwhelming pain as they are gradually ripped apart, and the cloaked knight with blazing golden eyes steps forward, one foot at a time, his legs threatening to buckle under profound anger.

Sidious, forcefully locked in place by the dark tendrils that have turned traitor and now are slowly tearing his innards into shreds, eyes wide and hands scrabbling at his throat and heart jumping out from its cavity to the master's maw, finds himself physically grabbed by the throat, lifted even higher into the air.

A quivering hand moves toward Anakin's arm, and he musters helpless in his eyes as a final chance of conversion—"Son—"

"LIAR!" The voice is not of one man, but a thousand souls speaking at once, the deafening howl ricocheting around the crumpled walls of the office. The final light flickers off, and in the gloom, there is only the brilliant blue of the lightsaber and a pair of feverish eyes streaked with the color of murder. Dark tendrils cackle from the vehement loathing that pours off the fallen one; and before Sidious can raise his hands to send lightning to force the boy into submission, the blue penetrates the Sith lord's form.

Shoulders sag limp in defeat; the lifeless body falls to the floor.

A strong gust of luminescent silver wind, heavy and freezing to the bone, knocks the fallen knight into the nearby wall. As Anakin slowly picks himself up, his cloak billows and the dark tendrils relinquish their proximity to the knight, seeking someone else to haunt or devour.

Gazing at the corpse on the ground, ice-blue eyes widen in panic as Anakin mutters to himself in disbelief, lightsaber discarded on the floor: "What have I done?"

He... he needed guidance, yet he could not drag his angel into this mess, and Obi-Wan wasn't near... Perhaps the Council would, for once, be of assistance.

* * *

Even by afternoon, the news of the Chancellor's apparent murder had not been officially announced. After being told of what had transpired in the Chancellor's office, Mace Windu had insisted on going with Anakin to see the body.

And so, he does. The rotting lump reeks a bit now.

"This will be a mess to clean in the senate," Windu notes with a frown, his nose scrunched up at the stench leaking from the disfigured _thing_ on the carpet. "The Council must meet immediately. If news of this reaches the public, the Order will be in trouble."

Anakin nods, his hair disheveled, his lungs a bit breathless.

* * *

Anakin stands in the center of the council chamber, under the pensive gazes of the masters.

"The right thing you have done, young Skywalker, but to give in to fear and anger, down the wrong path you go."

Anakin, still numb and reeling from shock, nods in agreement.

Yoda moves to continue his lecture, but suddenly the commlink rings; right on the moment the call is accepted, a voice from the other end comes through and shouts, "Master Yoda, the news is out!"

Anakin's stomach drops in dread, but he is intent on following through this.

Anakin stands before the senate with a determined gleam in his eyes, his hands in cuffs and guards standing in the back with blasters set on kill. Next to him are Padmé Amidala, Bail Organa, Mon Mothma, and Fang Zar, as well as others of the Delegation of 2000, who had come to Anakin's defense, and even the former Chancellor Valorum, who is taking advantage of the situation to strike a final blow against what was essentially his greatest political opponent.

"Knight Skywalker is innocent," Organa states. "Fellow senators, we are a _democracy! _Evidently, Palpatine was seizing power for himself, especially during the War. His reign shakes the foundational ideals of the Republic!"

The senator continues to speak, though most are not appeased, and soon boos echo throughout the senate chamber. Mas Amedda, tired of Organa's ramblings, motions for the senator's speaker to be cut off, and chuckles to himself as a surprised Bail uncharacteristically bristles in indignation.

"It is an unspeakable crime, to kill our beloved Chancellor in an act of cold blood! Senators, such an abominable deed as treason must be punished by death!"

Cheers burst from all corners of the chamber, and the Vice-Chair of the Galactic Senate allows himself a wolfish grin. As the chamber burst into disorder, Anakin inhales sharply to object, a fiery determination coming to his face; then there is a calming brush against his mind, and he looks up at where the Jedi Council sat. There, Yoda was, holding out a miniature hand and motioning for the knight to recollect his patience. With a sigh and brief shame hanging at the back of his head, Anakin nods, letting go of his pent-up anger and reaching for the Light. Padmé smiles at him in assurance, and her husband calms down again.

Mace Windu steps up at that moment and projects a holo to the widescreen. "I present you another piece of evidence." The chamber went silent once more, and Amedda's left hand clenches in a moment of panic—another piece of evidence was not what he had been expecting, and as it was already being shown to the public eye, there was no way he could stop the Jedi lest he risks his own life. "This security holorecording was taken from the Chancellor's office."

The security holo starts. Palpatine stands there, encircling knight Skywalker. "Use my knowledge. I beg you," the late Chancellor pleads. The young man behind him is silent for some brief moments, contemplating.

A beam of blue light extends from Anakin's saber, nearly reaching the Chancellor's neck. "You're Sidious, the Sith lord-the one behind the war!" The senate gasps, but Palpatine continues, though his left hand, hidden from Anakin's view but not from the visual receptors of the holorecorder, is wracked with tremors.

"I know what's been troubling you. Listen to me—don't continue to be a _pawn _of the Jedi council!"

"Just as the whole galaxy was a pawn to you!? Do not think I can be fooled! You, _you_ established the Separatists and manipulated this whole war!" The tip of the lightsaber inches closer to Palpatine's neck; there is an eerie, shocked silence in the senate.

The Chancellor on the screen pauses in intense deliberation, before continuing: "Ah, but that was a necessary evil. The Republic was becoming _worthless_, my boy... The galaxy needs a... _better, _more _unifying_ order, led by a strong leader;" there was a clear sly tone to the Chancellor's voice; Mas Amedda's heart constricts in fear, as murmurs start traversing through the senate pods, "why not let war root out the weak?" A furious shout rebounds across the chamber, but the recording continues with Palpatine's conniving smile. "Peace, freedom, justice, and security... are those not the things you fight for? With the conclusion of this war, such things will be achieved! Apathy will be purged from the galaxy; the citizens whom you protect will be safer under a new rule. Do you not wish for _reformation_?"

There was no reply, with Anakin's chest quietly heaving with rage as he stood behind Sidious, but nor was there silence, as the senate burst into angry whispers, and then shouts, and finally, senators rushing to demand that Mas Amedda be cuffed immediately.

On the screen, Palpatine lets out a sigh before being cut out entirely; Mace Windu had removed the recording, in fear of the image of Anakin choking the Chancellor injuring the chances of the Jedi Order's success.

As Mas Amedda is led away by the guards, Obi-Wan dashes into the senate complex, only to find chaos erupting from an irate mob of thousands of senators. Yet, when he sees his brother, uncuffed and embracing Senator Padmé Amidala, he could not help but smile.

* * *

The Jedi Council, having viewed the holorecording in its entirety, now knew of Skywalker and Amidala's relationship, which did nothing but set Anakin on edge, especially since he had been excluded from the discussion on this matter, and Obi-Wan would not disclose any information even when they were in private. The only times he even really interacted with members of the council, with Obi-Wan as an exception, were the meditation sessions that Yoda held with anyone in the Order who sought healing from the horrors of the Clone War. Anakin had been requested by the Grandmaster himself to join the daily meditations, and that he could not refuse—but without Sidious's dark influence hanging over his head, the peace of the Light was easier to grasp, now.

Senator Mon Mothma was elevated to the position of Chancellor, with members of the Delegation of 2000 working closely by her side, though Amidala was forced to become less active in her work by the chancellor's direct orders, which stated that the prestigious woman was quite concerned with her good ally's health. As Anakin waited for a conclusion of whether he was to be expelled from the Order, he spent as much time with Padmé as he could, the lovers seeking each other's comfort as answers drew near.

However, when the Council planned to finally announce its decision, Padmé went into early labor for unknown reasons (which caused Anakin to momentarily be stricken with fear, but then he recalled that he had not had a single nightmare after Sidious's death, and that thought brought him quite a tremendous amount of relief).

Padmé safely delivered twins (twins!), and the moment teary-eyed Anakin was given his baby daughter to hold, Obi-Wan stepped inside the delivering room, and with a blooming smile, announced that Anakin was pardoned and would not be expelled. It was that moment that Anakin finally broke down into tears of joy, surrounded by his family.

Luke and Leia would grow up in the Jedi Temple, unparalleled in strength. Once they reached the proper age, many masters of the Order requested to mentor the twins, though ultimately Luke accepted Obi-Wan as his master, while Leia accepted Mace Windu as hers. Still, Yoda vied to train the twins and would ask for their presence whenever he had the chance—something that Anakin would often brag to Ahsoka, who was traveling the galaxy to help those in need, alongside Rex and some other clones from the 501st. She would find Lux Bonteri again, and though they would never marry, they would not be separated either.

The droids of the Separatist army were decommissioned and sent to worlds ravaged by the Clone War, whereas the clones were discovered to have been implanted with inhibitor chips, which were thus removed. The Kaminoans, partially coerced by some members of the Senate, developed a cure to the rapid aging process of the clones; the recovery process took years, but as Luke and Leia matured into adulthood, the last clone was healed and sent to live a peaceful life.

As the rest of the galaxy grew to know of Anakin's marriage with Senator Amidala (and wasn't _that_ on the holonews for a while), more members of the Jedi Order became bold and began developing romances of their own; and it did not help that after the War, Kento and Mallie Marek soon declared their relationship as well. This forced the Council to reconsider their ways, and eventually, it was decided that the Order would not forbid romantic relationships for its members. Several other reforms came along the way, and the Order grew and prospered once more.

Under the leadership of Mon Mothma and her successors, the Republic thrived. Luke and Leia grew up, and Anakin and Padmé grew older. Eventually, Leia married Han Solo, a dashing rogue smuggler she and her master had met on a mission. In two years, Leia gave birth to Ben Solo, much to the delight of the infant's grandparents; in another year, Luke found love with fellow knight Mara Jade and planned on having a child in the future.

And so, with those he cared about safe and sound, Anakin, now a Jedi Master and more importantly a grandfather, healed.

All was well until he sensed a dark presence while on a mission in the Unknown Regions with Ahsoka and her team...

Possessed by a half-dissipated fragment of Sidious's spirit, it waited patiently for the shuttle to land, to exact vengeance for what had happened decades ago.

The humanoid called himself Snoke.

* * *

**A/N: Reviews are always welcome! Thank you for reading!**


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